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sábado, 22 de maio de 2010


The following needs to be done in the very near future:

  1. Buy a 2nd-hand pick-up so that we don’t spend a fortune paying companies to bring various bits of furniture and gardening/building material that we´ll soon need.
  2. Use said pick-up (which will be sold within a year to make way for a diesel version whose engine will be converted to run off of old cooking oil, after which we will be able to collect the nearby town´s used oil instead of having them throw it away, which is usually damaging to the environment) to collect building rubble from the millions of building sites that litter SP, to be used to ´pave´ the current road to the property, which is a little impassable at times due to the amount of water that the surrounding trees hold in the ground.
  3. Fix up the two small houses currently situated on the property (at present they are uninhabitable) with the help of a local who knows how to fit a toilet etc, and our own sweat as we scrub down the walls, fend off the wasps and give everything various coats of fab coloured paint - it´s not just the girls who are excited to decorate, we´re all feeling the imminent joy of finally having a place of our very own that we can spruce up any way we want.
  4. Map out the growth cycles of the various fruits and vegetables we´d like to plant, and then begin growing their seedlings, in time for them to be transplanted when spring arrives. Amongst other things, we’ll plant seeds in the middle of toilet rolls and transplant everything at the right time so that the cardboard acts as compost for each seedling. The property already boasts 2 lemon trees, a number of banana plants, and something vine-y.
  5. Mow the massive amount of over-grown grass that is currently trying to protect the area that was cleared who-knows-how-many years ago.
  6. Begin a compost heap so that we can soon begin to ´treat´ the soil in the area where we would like to plant our vege garden.
  7. Plant 'sansao do campo' (a super fast growing hedge that's so full of thorns it's impossible to penetrate without a machete) along the front of the property so that, within a year, we will be obscured from the view of potential burglars (the property being rather isolated - actually, it´s just us for miles and miles! Imagine the stars at night!)
  8. Buy two semi-puppies as a first means of protection - and because we all just loooove dogs (and every animal we can think of, but slowly but surely is the best idea for now).

Our long-term goals are as such

  1. Learn as much as possible about permaculture and, as far as is possible given our climate and terrain etc, create a permaculture system, both for our plants and our homes (toilet waste being used to generate heat / energy / compost, and other such practices)
  2. Build a greenhouse for future seedlings and winter greens so that we will eventually become completely independent with regards to our vegetable etc. in-take.
  3. Establish various thriving fruit trees for future generations.
  4. Provide a safe home for animals who will be allowed to live humanely and the way that they were designed to do - for example, be allowed to roam and have families.
  5. Convert all energy dependence into sustainable energy - for example, water catchment for irrigation and washing etc., so that we have almost zero impact on the property´s river system; solar / wind / kinetic energy (like bicycles) for electricity; innovations using bottles to heat shower water and provide light during the day; cooking oil for motor vehicles of all types; compost and fertilizer from our own property.
  6. Build various ecological houses over time, experimenting with the many ecological concepts that exist at the moment: houses made from tyres and beer cans; eco-friendly bricks; bricks that are actually bags of rubbish; straw houses; and loads more
  7. Sell the above homes to like-minded people looking to live in a sustainable community.

Most importantly, we want to live the most sustainably and harmoniously as possible.

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